"Wherever you go, go with all your heart." -Confucius
When I think of this quote, I think of all of the traveling I have done already throughout this program. As I look back on our second field trip to Vienna and Venice, I can't help but smile at all of the amazing memories our group has made! Before we departed for Vienna on Tuesday morning, I really had no idea what to expect. I knew Vienna was famous for Mozart and known as the "city of music", but I had no idea how historically rich it really was. As always, we checked into our hostel right away when we arrived in Vienna. Although we don't spend lots of time in the hostels, I am always looking forward to what they will be like. We stayed in the "Happy Hostel" and I absolutely loved it! Each hostel we have stayed in has been unique, but this hostel definitely had lots of character. In our room, we had our own small kitchen area, dining table, three twin beds, a large bunk bed, and a private bathroom. After dropping our luggage off at the hostel, we followed Martin to start our little tour of Vienna. We first went to the Maria Theresa Monument near the Museum of Natural History and another museum of Art History. We used this spot many times after exploring when we were finding our way back to the hostel.
Maria Theresa Monument
Martin then led us to another main square of Vienna, and let us free for lunch. At lunch I realized that Vienna's prices were not very cheap. The food and souvenirs all cost much more than I thought they would, so I was a little surprised. After lunch we met back with the group to go to the Imperial Treasury. Seeing all of the crowns, jewels and other items in the treasury was pretty amazing, but I have to admit that these type of museums are starting to bore me a little. I was excited to leave the museum and explore more of Vienna afterwards. A group of us walked around and found a beautiful park, and a large cathedral. From there, a few of us girls decided we wanted to shop along the main shopping street by our hostel. Vienna definitely had some good places for shopping, but I was shocked when I found out that nearly every store closed at 7:00 P.M. Since most shops were closed, we found a cafe to eat and called it a night. The next morning we were so excited to attend a horse show! We patiently sat in the arena, waiting for the horse show, until we realized that it wasn't a show. It was just a practice for the upcoming horse shows! Even though we were disappointed that we did not get to see an actual show, I still thought it was special that we were able to see the fancy arena and a little bit of what the horses can do. We had the rest of our day free, and I was determined to see something involving Mozart. Luckily, we ended up finding a cheap music museum called Haus der Musik. I was so incredibly happy that we were able to go to this museum! Not only did it have a section on classical composers like Mozart, but it also had several areas involving the science of music and hearing. I never considered the science of hearing and music until I had been to Haus der Musik, and now I am so glad that I was able to see such an incredible and informative museum.
Mozart's Possessions in Haus Der Musik
That night was our last night in Vienna, and I had mixed feelings. I was a little sad knowing that we had to leave after two short days, but I could not contain my excitement to visit Venice! The next morning we hopped on the bus for our seven hour bus ride to Venice, which I was not looking forward to. However, we drove right by the Swiss Alps, which was absolutely breathtaking! I had no idea we were going to drive through the Alps like that, and it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the entire trip.
Beautiful Swiss Alps
As we drove further along, we noticed miles and miles of vineyards as soon as we entered Italy. When we finally got to Venice, I was more than ready to explore! After our bus dropped us off, we had to then board a train to get to our hostel. Our hostel in Venice was pretty small, but clean and comfortable. It did not surprise me at all that it was small, considering how close all of the buildings are together. My first impressions of Venice were nothing but pure amazement. I remember seeing pictures of Venice and thinking there's no way it could be that pretty in person, but all of my expectations were exceeded. Each and every winding street was so unique, and the buildings were all different kinds of colors. Martin first took us to St. Mark's square, where he then left us to explore. Since Maddie and I were leaving Venice a day earlier than the rest of the group for our spring break, we knew we had to make the most out of our short time in Venice. So, that night we set out to go on a gondola ride. We found a good deal for five of us to go on a gondola ride, so we decided to go for a ride. The gondola ride was so unbelievably breathtaking! The sun was setting while we were on the gondola, so everything was twice as beautiful! I will never forget all of the beauty we were able to see along that ride. It made me feel so blessed that I was able to even see such an amazing sight! When our gondola ride ended, we knew we should probably head back towards our hostel before it got too dark. The only problem was that we had no idea where we were going! I am not sure how to describe directions in Venice, because around every corner there is something completely new and you usually have no idea where you are at. Martin even said that you sometimes have to go in the wrong direction of where you are supposed to, in order to end up in the right direction you need to go. Needless to say, it was definitely an adventure finding our way back to the hostel. I truly believe though, that the best way to see Venice is simply to walk around and get lost in the streets. There is always something different around every street, and it is so much fun just exploring without a purpose! We eventually found our way back to the hostel (after stopping multiple times for food and gelato) and went straight to bed so we could wake up early. We did not have to meet our group until 11 A.M. at St. Mark's square the next morning, but a group of us woke up very early so we could explore Venice at 7:00 A.M. Waking up super early was definitely worth it as we found the streets mostly empty that morning. Not many stores were open, and only a few people were up and walking around. It was so awesome to see what Venice was like that early in the morning before the streets got busy. Everything was so peaceful and calm; even the pigeons weren't out that early! Throughout that morning we relaxed on some benches by the sea, tried the famous Italian spritz beverage, had an early lunch, and tried a canoli from a local bakery. We soon had to meet the group, so Martin could take us to the Basilica Di San Marco and a museum. The thing I liked best about this museum we went to was the underground chambers it had that were once used as a jail. It was crazy to think about all of the history that Venice had, as we learned that it was an important port for shipping. Once we were finished at the museum we were free to explore once again. Maddie and I had to leave that afternoon for Rome, so we quickly walked through the streets of Venice one last time before heading back to the hostel.
Beautiful Venice
Spritz
I was struck with immense waves of sadness as we had to leave Venice. I had never before been so attached to a city, and I had only been there for less than two full days! I was not expecting to fall in love with it the way that I did, but now I just keep thinking about when I will be able to return. The overall experience I had in Vienna and Venice was something that I will never forget. I had a lot of fun, but I also learned a lot along the way. In Vienna, we dealt with a lot of rude locals, which was not something I was expecting. However, I just had to take every experience, good or bad, and use it to help myself learn and grow. I also had to learn that you cannot rely on your expectations of places, because it's normally not what you think. I figured this out in both Vienna and Venice. I had high expectations for Vienna, and it was not what I had pictured. I was expecting to see Mozart statues everywhere and that we would go to an opera or something. Instead, we went to a horse show, which was fun-- it was just not what I was expecting. I also had high expectations for Venice, and it completely exceeded those expectations. Although I did not get to spend as much time as I would have liked in both of these places, I believe that the time I had there was priceless.
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